County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court, No. S163 681 (Cal. July 26, 2010)
Several California cities and counties brought public nuisance cases against manufacturers of lead paint, and hired outside counsel on a contingency fee basis. The manufacturers moved to dismiss on the grounds that Clancy (a case barring contingency fees for attorneys representing public entities in nuisance cases) precluded the payment of contingency fees. The trial court…
County of Santa Clara v. Superior Court, 50 Cal. 4th 35; 235 P.3d 21 (Cal. 2010)
A line of California caselawhad prohibited all contingent fee contracts with outside counsel in government nuisance cases. The California supreme court narrowed its prior decision. In this case, the contingency fee contracts provided that the public entities’ government counsel “retain final authority over all aspects of the litigation.” The court held that contingent fee contracts…
Beckley v. Schwarzenegger, 2010 Cal. LEXIS 9708 (Sept. 8, 2010)
Attorney general may not be compelled through mandamus action to file suit or prosecute appeal
Perry v. San Francisco, No. S189476 (Cal. Nov. 17, 2011)
California voters passed Proposition 8, a state initiative to ban gay marriage. Several parties filed suit in federal court, seeking to enjoin state and local officials (including the Attorney General) from enforcing the initiative on civil rights grounds. Proponents of the initiative were granted leave to intervene as defendants. The Attorney General and other state…
